US stocks set for muted gains after record highs in previous session amid benign US data and blockbuster earnings

6.50am: Muted start seen on Friday the 13th US stocks look set to end the week on a muted note, albeit still close to new record highs hit on Thursday as investors cheered some benign US data and a blockbuster round of corporate earnings. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up less than 0.1% after hitting a record high in the previous session, while futures for the broader S&P 500 were roughly flat with the index having reached its 47th all-time closing peak of 2021 on Thursday. Futures for the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 were also up less than 0.1%. Stocks have moved higher in thin summer trading thanks to solid earnings growth from some of the biggest US companies, even as worries over the coronavirus (COVD-19) Delta variant threaten to dull the economic recovery. One risk is that, after recent benign jobs and inflation data, the Federal Reserve withdraws stimulus measures faster than investors are expecting. The latest data will see the release on Friday of the University of Michigan’s first gauge of consumer sentiment for August, which could show if rising COVID-19 cases have knocked consumer confidence. Five things to watch on Friday: Walt Disney shares were higher ahead of the opening bell after the media giant posted $918 million in profit for its fiscal third quarter compared with a loss of $4.72 billion in the same period last year. Shares in vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) rose after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized booster shots for certain people with weakened immune systems. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) may be forced to sell gif creator Giphy after an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The social media group bought Giphy, which supplies images to Snapchat and Twitter, last year for US$400mln (£290mln). The value of forum website Reddit is expected to rise to over US$10bn after the social media giant unveiled plans to raise over US$700mln in a funding round. On Thursday, the company said the Series F funding round is being led by Fidelity Management and Research Company LLC and also includes some of its other existing investors. Adidas shares rose Friday after the German sporting-goods company said late Thursday it would sell Reebok to Authentic Brands Group for up to 2.1 billion euros, equivalent to around $2.5 billion.